In Honduras, the former "banana republic" which is characterized by poverty and mass emigration, the Catholic Church must go to the poor, attending to their spiritual needs and providing education.
In Focus' Faith Matters team met the cardinal in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and accompanied him on a visitation to mark the fortieth anniversary of the "Delegados de la Palabra" movement. Commissioned by the church, the "delegados" are "envoys of the Word" who undertake a wide range of pastoral tasks in their communities, including non-eucharistic services. Without the "delegados," who are trained by the various dioceses, it would not be possible to compensate for the shortage of priests in Honduras. They are also a source of Catholic grass-roots movements and have generated initial impulses for a "Church of the Poor" throughout Latin America.
Taking selected towns and villages as examples, Faith Matters portrays the situation of the Catholic church in Honduras. Cardinal Rodriguez's commitment as a churchman and social moralist, supporting the poor, has made him famous far beyond Latin America. This report examines how the cardinal has become a cosmopolitan figure, deeply attached to his church and his country. A cardinal and his delegados.
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